Kristie McNealy, MD

Using donor eggs to achieve pregnancy has become increasingly common since the first donor egg baby was born in the US in 1984. The process can be time consuming and emotional, for both the donor and recipient couple. If you’re considering egg donation, here’s a some general information about what the process will entail.

The start of the process will vary depending on whether you use an egg donor agency or your fertility clinic to secure a donor, or if you contract with an individual privately. When working with agencies or fertility clinics, donors will typically be pre-screened to establish that they are medically and emotionally fit to be an ovum donor, and to investigate their family heath history for indications of any genetic conditions the donor might carry. Once you select a donor, you will enter into a legal contract, and the donor will undergo further testing to rule out sexually transmitted diseases, any genetic conditions that are of concern and any gynecologic problems that would interfere with the donation process.

Once you’re ready to begin the donor cycle, both the recipient and donor begin to take birth control pills in order to synchronize their menstrual cycles. The donor will use injectable medications typically used during in vitro fertilization cycles in order to suppress their own hormonal cycles, and stimulate their ovaries to develop multiple follicles. Typically, the day the donor starts stimulating medications, the recipient will begin taking estrogen. When the developing follicles reach the appropriate size, the donor will receive an HCG injection in preparation for retrieval. Around that time, the recipient begins taking a progesterone supplement.

On the day of egg retrieval, the recipients husband must provide a semen, so the eggs can be fertilized. Once the embryo’s have reached the appropriate stage, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis can be performed to look at each embryo’s chromosomes or test for specific genetic conditions. Finally, the best embryos are chosen, and transferred into the recipient’s uterus. The number of embryos transferred varies according to the condition of the embryos and other factors specific to each couple.

After egg retrieval, donors may be asked to restrict their fluid intake or minimize physical activity for a week or two if they have produced a large number of follicles. About 9 or 10 days after embryo transfer, recipient couples typically return to their fertility clinic for a pregnancy test.

For more information about the egg donation process, including choosing a donor, how to become a donor, and possible complications of the egg donation procedure, watch for future editions of our Donor Eggs series.

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